


Round and Back Again

by shinomu



Category: Magic Knight Rayearth
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinomu/pseuds/shinomu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Come and have a look at the many lives of our beloved characters through alternate realities, worlds and magic places.  [Alternate Universe One Shots collection]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which they never go back

**Author's Note:**

> So, since I got an account, I decided to post some of my drabbles and ficlets in this collection mainly in hopes I'll get my writing mood back. I'll add warnings and ratings as each story goes. Hope you enjoy!

The word _Cephiro_ tattooed across her chest was to remind her that life was a never ending adventure and that she should face her own world with courage, determination and a dash of magic. So that the lessons she learned at the tender age of fourteen would always be cherished and that her memories of the enchanted land served as guide to start her very own adventure for the rest of her time.

 

Through her early adulthood, she pursued higher education, graduating as a veterinary – her connection with animals never fading. With her dear brothers’ blessings, she then went to travel the world, volunteering her help in many different places, coveting to do as much as she could to build a better future. She traveled for a long time, and at a little tattoo parlor in Malta had three roses inked on her left arm, closer to the heart, as her dear brothers will always be. _Always together_ was the lettering below them, a sign of ties that could never be broken.

 

Hard times weren’t so few, the heaviness in her chest and lump up her throat a common feeling on most places she went to. From time to time she’d get in touch with her friends, thebeautiful, brave girls that were now writing their own story with as much strong will. They were destined to great achievements, and embodied a big part of herself. Umi, her right hand woman, was represented by a dragon – the closer as the image she could remember of Selece – on her upper right arm. And Fuu, her gentle protector, was the wings on her back.

 

And so the former fire knight lived her life, exploring the world and chasing her dreams. When she’s last been to India, she’s also had a final symbol marked on her skin, one for her eyes only and to remind her to live love as fully as she could, _let it be infinite while it lasts_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> The quote 'let it be infinite while it lasts' is from Vinicius de Moraes' Sonnet on Fidelity.


	2. In wich they never go back (and it's not so easy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written and posted long ago on ff.net (I've got the same username over there), but while re-reading it, everything came across so very silly. Therefore I decided to have another take on it. Hopefully this isn't as terrible.
> 
> Also, it's unbeta'd, sorry in advance?

Heavy cigarette smoke filled the ambient, there were wicked laughs and heels clacking. The pub suddenly seemed too suffocating. She was drunk, her head was dizzy and in real need for some air.  


With some struggle, she managed to go past the crowded place and reach the stairs. It was a real challenge to balance herself with a spinning head and people squinting themselves to enter or to get out of the damn place.  


After what seemed an eternity, she finally reached the last step. Only to trip and fall disgracefully on the floor. _Ouch_. People passing by really didn't care, it _was_ a bloody bar after all – drunk idiots were pretty much expected. The redhead summoned all her strength to lift herself from the filthy pavement and get out of there quickly.  


Stumbling pretty much over anything on her way, she felt her head getting heavier and heavier. Oh, she _really_ needed to lie down. Conveniently, there was a park close by, full of inviting benches. It wouldn't be the greatest of ideas to actually sleep on a bench, but right now she had no sense at all, so her body just fell there with a loud _thump_.  


Well, that felt better.  


Why was Shidou Hikaru in such a state, you ask. Well, it's been some sinuous path ever since the return from Cephiro.  


It started somewhat bearable, with her dear friends moving out of the country. Okay, so they'd be far away for some time, but it wasn't as if their friendship was ruined. There was internet for God's sake, it's not like they'd never talk again. And they did, kept in contact that is, as regular as possible. The experiences they’ve been through together created a strong bond between the unlikely friends.  


But the fleeting fantasy of Cephiro started losing its sweetness and slowly leaving a sour taste behind. Earth was not the same, could never be the same. There was no one else to share other than themselves and even then, as the years and life dragged, wariness grew on their minds, for memory is capricious. Hikaru should have sensed then, that something was undeniably damaged when her pendant cracked.  


Two years ago, Umi's mother died. It was a terrifyingly slow and desolating process. Both Ryuuzaki fell in a deep depression and the beautiful girl they once knew vanished. Last Hikaru talked to her they had a fight over the former Water Knight planning to quit law school to marry some business man. What an irony this turned out to be.  


(they had so many hopes and dreams, once, so much more than their fourteen year old selves ever imagined)  


Sometime later Hikaru’s older brother had an accident, crashed his motorcycle with a truck.  


He's still in coma. Her family was a wreck. The glaring absence of the head of the family – she didn’t even know if she could still call him _father_ – almost unbearable.  


It was a terrible time to fall into your regular college student behavior, what with her family and friends no longer there to support and be supported.  


(as strong as her will was in the land of Cephiro, it was all thanks to her loved ones – as it was now so painfully obvious)  
Her two brothers were left grasping at straws with the lack of Satoru’s guidance, her mother’s calmness and their little sister sweet and happy demeanor.  


There's really no need to talk about her studies, let's say college wasn't a place she visited often. She was never meant to be an academic, but at least the thought of working with Biology made her pursue it for a while, dreams on a higher cloud at the time. But as unbalanced as the former Fire Knight was, losing herself on that divine dizziness and the fleeting, fickle warm of _friends_ that never stayed long enough to deserve such title.  


Oh, but Fuu called the other day. It’s been more than a year since they talked – it’d be kind to say it was awkward. Apparently Ferio suddenly appeared at her door. He said he came after her, all the way from Cephiro. How crazy was that?  


(and why did it ache so much? Burned such anger inside her head? The comforting thought of fire now completely lost to her)  


And that's how she ended up here. All of her money spent on alcohol. What now? She didn't know, her head hurt even more. Reviving everything wasn’t a great idea. Her eyelids were heavy and every now and then she'd yawn, but, strangely, she couldn't sleep.  


There was a little movement close by, a group of people decided to head where she was. Great, now she had to sit straight and pretend she wasn't _that_ bad so no one would call the police or something. With all her remaining effort she sat up, head heavy like a stone. She closed her eyes and rubbed hands against her arms (her body sober enough to start recognizing the cold weather now) waiting until they passed by. They were slow, exasperatingly so, voices coming closer and louder. And then rushed silence.  


She finally opened her eyes. He was standing there, looking like someone haunted. And her heart dropped. A sudden wave of rage ran through her body and tears threatened to fall (she stopped them – barely so). His eyes suddenly softened as he took a tentative step towards her. She trembled (not so much from the cold). He opened his mouth slightly but then closed, not sure of what to say. They stayed like that for a pretty long time until the man gave up and, with a sight, sat by her side (but not too close).  


"I didn't know this world was so… big."  


Oh, _really_.  


"I… ended up in a completely different place, took me so much to understand enough to connect things. I thought… really there was a time I stopped believing I'd actually find you."  


(he wasn’t a man of many words – especially about his feelings – so it was a given that he’s been thinking about this for long – way too long)  


And then he seemed so tired, even more than she was. There was a knot on her throat now and the tears where getting _persistent_.  


"But I did."  


_Yes, you did. Oh my…_  


"I only wonder if it's not too late…"  


"Is it?"  


"I am the one who's asking."  


"Was it a waste of your time?" tears started falling, but she kept fighting them as flames licked up her lungs.  


Silence.  


"No."  


Oh, but now they ran free. She could feel her face start swelling as she cried harder. At that moment he decided they no longer needed that distance and held her close. She smelled like bad cigarettes, alcohol and… cinnamon. Just as he remembered.  


Her breath started to get even at some point when sunlight shied at the horizon.  


"Take me home" it was barely a whisper.  


(her voice wouldn’t dare raise, so afraid the slightest motion would bring this to an abrupt end like everything else)  


And he did. That morning he took care of her, always tender. She didn't utter a word. Neither did him. Every single sense in their bodies sparking to life again as they _breathed_.  


(there was a warmth in there – gentle, soothing – it gave her hope)


	3. Of friendships and kittens, but mostly kittens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of my dear tumblr ficlets. Sorta Modern!AU.

When Ferio started dating Fuu, it didn’t take long to learn he was getting a three for one deal. The friendship his girlfriend shared with Hikaru and Umi was one of a kind, the sort that had a circle in hell reserved for anyone who’d even cogitate barging in. And although Ferio wasn’t a firm believer in hell, he didn’t want to take his chances.

So he decided to make an effort in befriending them too, they seemed cool and he was sure it’d make Fuu happy. It was a win-win situation.

What he didn’t imagine was that it would be so easy. And that he’d find himself really happy with his new friends.

Umi was witty, sassy and ruthless and the best drinking buddy he could ever ask for. They got each other and she sometimes even had his back when Fuu teased him mercilessly (at least until it was funnier to just let him suffer alone).

And Hikaru… there was just no way one would consider not being friends with that girl. She was made of some tough sugary stuff, puppies and sunshine and was acquainted to what Ferio calculated was at least half the city. When they were out together, people of all kinds greeted her warmly.

Nothing would beat the three together when they let him in, though (except of course when he was alone with Fuu). Some of the best days in his life in Japan happened these times.

After almost a year, as Ferio waited in line for coffee while Hikaru chatted animatedly with the cashier, he had to wonder how Fuu’s _friends_ considered _him_.

“Eh, you’re my friend, what’s of it?” it was Umi’s easy reply, judging eyebrow slowly rising up. “Sure Hikaru feels the same”, she shrugged, “you know how she just can’t not befriend anyone that looks at her for more than fifteen seconds” she added with a small smile, warmth in her eyes.

Yeah, he sure knew that, given how the redhead was still talking to the grumpy looking guy who got their drinks earlier. But her easy going personality made his mind start reeling about how he’d know what kind of friend he was to Hikaru. Not like Umi and Fuu, obviously. But was he like every other acquaintance she greeted on the street, like her _half-the-entire-Tokyo friend_ or was he her _friend_? He couldn’t help being bummed about it.

But he certainly did _not_ pout when Fuu made him voice what was bothering him for some time now.

And of course she smirked at him. That petulant turn of mouth that showed how much more she knew than him and that made him want to pounce.

“Don’t worry about it” was what she seemed to settle on.

He was still _not pouting_.

“You know, it’s sort of become Hikaru-san’s habit to reach for her closest friends whenever she finds some abandoned puppies or kittens on the streets.”

Oh. That would explain some things (he’d never taken Umi for a cat lady - although he knew first hand how she was a protective mother bear towards Guru and Draco).

So when he opened his door weeks later to a redheaded energy ball holding a card box with three stray kittens, he couldn’t help the shit-eating grin that started spreading on his face. He also couldn’t decide which pleading eyes were cuter, so he took the whole box and invited her in for ice cream.

He couldn’t wait to see Fuu’s face when she noticed his tiny, fluffy and utterly adorable brown kitty. And he was sure Emeraude wouldn’t mind if he gifted his favorite nieces with its siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ferio's nieces are so happy with their kittens that they named him Best Uncle Ever.  
> At least until Lantis got pouty.  
> Then they proceeded to tackle the tall man and giggle as their kittens climbed him. It was a great Sunday.  
> Also Fuu's knowing smile was infuriating and he had to wipe it off immediately.


End file.
